Menma
by Blake Nesbit
Summary: When a shadowy figure named Menma infiltrates a postwar summit and declares war on a weakened shinobi world, it is ultimately up to Minato, Naruto, and Kushina to stop her. But when they find out Menma's true identity, will they want to stop her? Set after the Grand Biju War, and is canon for the series. Intersects with the end of An Ancient Art.
1. Introduction

A quick introduction before I begin the story. I'm probably going to make this standard for all my stories from here on out.

This story is based on the fact that Naruto only has half the Nine Tails sealed inside of him. I capitalized on that (and the fact that Naruto has a genderbend) to decide this: Naruto has a twin sister (who goes by the name Menma, but is really named Naruko) that has the dark half of Nine-Tails sealed inside of her. She was taken by Tobi after the Nine-Tails' attack on the Leaf and raised to hate the Leaf and, in fact, the shinobi world as a whole. Now, after sixteen years of indoctrination, she infiltrates a post-war summit, intending to incite a war against a weakened shinobi world. What she doesn't expect is the intervention of the family she was raised to hate, as well as a long-forgotten secret...

This story intersects with An Ancient Art.


	2. A Summit Interrupted

Everyone in the summit hall had their eyes riveted on the shadowy figure. A black hooded cape and a fox mask obscured her features, and a black robe covered any possibly identifiable markings. The black gloves she wore had the palms cut away.

"Good to see I have your attention. Now, I've got something I wanna tell you all."

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Rai Shiromori said quietly, pulling Takaya close. Shin stood at the ready, glaring at the figure.

"You shut up for a moment and I'll tell you. Okay, everybody. My name is Menma."

"Menma? Like the ramen condiment?" Takaya giggled.

"SHUT UP!" Menma roared. She pointed a finger at Takaya, and a tiny ball of black energy formed at the end of it. "Now, Hokage, unless you want to be scrubbing your pretty little girl's brains out of your coat tonight, shut her up so I can keep talking."

"Oh really?"

"Don't think I can? Then why not demonstrate on someone a little more...disposable?" Menma moved her finger to point at Shin. "Bang." The chakra ball shot towards Shin with the speed of a bullet. No human could've avoided the attack.

But Shin wasn't human. In the blink of an eye she had drawn her tanto and slapped the chakra bullet away with the flat of the blade.

You could hear the smile in Menma's voice. "Oh? Guess you're not as disposable as I thought."

"I was brought into being to guard my lady from harm. As long as she lives, I cannot and will not die."

"Such resolve. We'll see if that lasts." Menma scanned the room. "I see that you're not the only one of your kind."

"No, I am not. Each Kage has their own. Right now, we have Enrai, the Hokage's guardian..." Shin gestured to the mostly-bandaged young man at Rai's side. "...Sabaku Sotaiso, the guardian of the Kazekage..." She pointed to the young woman dressed in a tattered tunic with broken manacles around her wrists and ankles sitting at Gaara's right hand. "...Sodaina Kurokari, guardian of the Raikage..." She pointed to the black-haired cat-girl perched on the table near the Raikage. "...Kohai, guardian of the Tsuchikage..." She indicated the hooded, robed figure standing near the Tsuchikage's chair. "And Mizugameza, guardian of the Mizukage." She pointed to a young woman with extremely long, flowing, sky blue hair who was dressed in simple clothes adorned with pearls.

"I see. Six of you, plus the five Kage...and the Hokage's daughter." Menma's audible smile became a grin. "Twelve against one. But, of course, it'll be too easy this way. Now, let me tell you what I'm after." Menma leaned forward. "I want revenge on the villages that cast me out sixteen years ago. I wish to carry out the will of the man who raised me and scorch the earth." Menma leaned back. "I will start my war one month from now. You will not know who I will attack or when the attack will come. But when it comes you had best be ready to face me. If you are not ready...you shall all be destroyed, and I will become this world's god."

As Menma turned her head back and forth, Takaya caught a glimpse of what appeared to be Sharingan...but at the same time...

"You have one month. I bid you adieu." Menma disappeared using something similar to the Kamui.

Takaya piped up as soon as she was gone. "I-I saw her eyes!"

"I did as well," Sabaku Sotaiso said glumly. "Menma...whoever she is...is being manipulated by someone with Sharingan."


	3. Breaking the News

Minato was stunned into speechlessness by what Enrai had just told him. Kushina saw this and took care of the questioning. "What...a sixteen-year-old girl? Being manipulated by someone with Sharingan?"

"Yes. And she had Nine-Tails chakra within her. Yang chakra, not Yin. Strange. I do not know how she came by it," Enrai said in his rolling-thunder-like voice. "Sabaku Sotaiso noticed a few blonde hairs. Roughly the same shade as Naruto's. It's a good thing she's so analytical."

"Her voice. What was it like?"

"She was distorting it. We cannot be sure."

"...Thank you, Enrai."

"Are you all right? You both look very shaken."

"It's just...another war, so soon...excuse us, Enrai."

"Of course, Milady." Enrai left.

When they were sure he was gone, Minato and Kushina embraced each other. "I didn't want to believe it..."

"I still don't, Minato."

"But...the doctors told us she was stillborn..."

"Apparently not. Or perhaps Madara revived her for his own sick, twisted devices. Planted seeds of a grudge she would never carry if we had raised her."

"...We can't mourn the time we never had with her being lost. Before anything...we need to tell Naruto."

Kushina nodded. "Yeah, we sure do."

Naruto was staring longingly at Ichiraku Ramen, wishing that he had the money to go inside and eat a bowl. His stomach growled so loudly it almost sounded like Kurama was about to break out.

"I know, stomach...but we don't have the money to go in..." Naruto lamented.

"Ah! Naruto! There you are!"

Naruto turned toward the voice to see his mother waving at him from just down the street. She jogged to him.

"Haah..whoo...there you are. Your father and I have been looking for you for nearly an hour, ya know?"

"Is something wrong, mom? Is Menma attacking already?"

Kushina shook her head. "No...but this is about Menma. Or rather...who she really is. Hold on, let me let your father know I found you..." Kushina rummaged in her pouch and took out one of Minato's special kunai. She stuck it in the ground. Moments later, Minato was there.

"Should've known he'd be here. You're always hungry, aren't you, Naruto?"

"Heh...yeah, until there are vegetables on the table!"

Minato had to force a smile. "Well, I can assure you that there won't be any vegetables involved here. But...this news isn't good news by any stretch of the imagination."

Naruto looked back and forth between his parents. "You both look upset. Is something wrong?"

"Naruto...we've been unintentionally lying to you for sixteen years."

"Huh? What?"

"Kushina, don't put it like that. Naruto...what your mother's trying to say is...we found out that you're not an only child, after all."

"I'm not...I'm not an only child? What, is mom pregnant?"

"No, Naruto. Menma...Menma is actually your twin sister."

Naruto was utterly shocked. "Menma...is my sister?" His anger quickly boiled up. "How long have you known this?!"

"We only just found out, Naruto. The doctors told us when you two were born...they said she was stillborn."

Naruto's anger faded as quickly as it had come. "...What's she like?"

Minato and Kushina were both surprised. "Huh?"

Naruto grinned. "If I've got a sister, I might as well know what she's all about, ya know!"

Their surprise continued for a moment longer, then Kushina started giggling. Minato followed suit, and soon they were both laughing.

"Ha...haha...oh..." Kushina wiped her eyes. "Sorry to tell you, Naruto, but she's been raised by an evil mastermind for all her life and is probably being manipulated by him even now. Plus, she wants to destroy the entire shinobi world. You probably won't get along too well."

"I'll wake her up, then!" Naruto clenched his fist. "I'll snap her out of whatever spell she's under!"

"Goodness...I haven't seen you this determined since you were taming Kurama...oh! Which reminds me...she has the other half of Kurama sealed inside her. The Yang half."

"Really? Maybe we'll be on even ground, then!"

_Speak for yourself, Naruto._

Suddenly, Naruto found himself inside his mind, standing near Kurama, whose head was resting on his paws.

"Kurama? What's up?"

_After that fiasco where Yoko stole my chakra, I'm not exactly in top fighting condition._

"No...? Well, couldn't we just give it our best shot?"

_Not with a foe that dangerous. My yang half contains most of my chakra control ability, so the host would be able to compress even a Biju Bomb to a size not much bigger than a seed._

"Hmm...that does sound hard to fight against. What could give us an edge?"

_She probably already knows about the Jutsu Entities, seeing as there were several at the summit. However, one you created with, say, the Biju Bomb or Planetary Rasengan or even Rasenshuriken would be very powerful. Perhaps more so than even Shinrai._

Naruto thought about it. "I dunno...I'd like as little outside help as possible. Maybe we could just create one. What would you recommend we use, Kurama?"

_The Biju Bomb would be most powerful, but the hardest to make, I would think. Rasenshuriken would be easiest to control, but the least powerful unless you made one of straight Rasengan. Planetary Rasengan seems like the most logical choice._

"I see...that way, it would have both your chakra and mine in it."

_Bingo._

"Hmm...I dunno, though. It seems like she uses Biju Bomb a lot. Could Planetary Rasengan stand up to that?"

_From what you've said, you just want to defeat her, not destroy her. By that logic, Biju Bomb and Rasenshuriken are definitely out. And if you're going to do Rasengan, you might as well go the extra step and do Planetary Rasengan._

"Could _she_ stand up to it?"

_She's related to _you_. I wouldn't put anything past her._

"Planetary Rasengan, then. Thanks for your help Kurama."

_Not a problem. I'll be here regaining my chakra if you need me._

"You mean sleeping?"

_Heh...call it what you will._


	4. Eggs

Planetary Rasengan's Jutsu Entity form was nothing like Naruto had expected.

A young, silver-blue-haired fox girl, she was very quiet and reserved and seemed reluctant to trust Naruto. She wore a white yukata that went down to just past her knees and had bare feet. She had the same whisker-like markings on her face that Naruto had, and her eyes were like Kurama's, only blue. Her body was adorned with tattoos that mimicked the markings on Kurama while in Tailed Beast Form, but they only seemed to show up when she was using chakra.

Now, she sat at the dinner table with a slightly perplexed Minato and Kushina and an excited Naruto. She looked uncomfortable, but didn't say anything.

Kushina finally asked the burning question. "All right, Naruto, I'll bite. Who is she?"

"Thought you'd never ask! This is my trump card for beating Menma! Y'know how all those people have Jutsu Entities or whatever? I talked it over with Kurama and we made one for ourselves! This is...well, she doesn't have a name yet, but this is Planetary Rasengan!"

Planetary Rasengan bowed. "I am pleased to meet you." She cast a glance at Minato. "So, does your son take after you?"

"Well, only in terms of hair. He gets everything else from his mother."

"Sadly."

"I would not say such things, Kushina-sama. I for one would be grateful if any child I had took after me as much as your son takes after you."

"Oh, why thank you...ugh, you need a name." Kushina thought for a moment. "Well, what's your favorite thing?"

"My favorite thing? Eggs."

"Really? Eggs?"

"I like the riddle about eggs. 'A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid'. That one."

"Well, okay. Let's see...'Tamago'. 'Egg' is 'Tamago'."

"I like that word. 'Tamago'."

"It's settled, then. Your name is Tamago."

"Tamago. Okay."

Later, after most of the Leaf Village had fallen asleep and the stars had come out, Naruto found Tamago kneeling on the back porch adjacent to his room. He approached quietly and sat down next to her.

"Beautiful, aren't they, Naruto?"

"The stars? Yeah, I did always like stars. Tamago...I want to talk about trust."

"You want to know why I don't trust you."

"Yeah."

"I don't trust you because you didn't use your own blood to summon me."

"That's it? That's all?"

"Part of the reason the jutsu for summoning those such as I was sealed away is because our personalities are unpredictable. Some jutsu will not trust their summoner as much if the summoner uses the clone's blood instead of their own." She looked at him. "If you don't want to bleed to summon us, why would you want to bleed to protect us?"

Naruto put his hand on Tamago's shoulder. "Tamago. Look at me."

She looked away, then looked at him. "Yes?"

"I am willing to bleed any amount of blood to protect my friends. Any of them, and all of them. Especially _him_."

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Yes."

Tamago looked Naruto in the face. "Why should I believe you?"

_Look at his eyes, Tamago. Tell me if those are the eyes of a liar._

Tamago shifted her gaze to Naruto's eyes. She closed her eyes, chuckled, and unwrapped her tail from around herself. "No, Kurama. You are right. Those eyes are not those of a liar." She opened her eyes and looked at Naruto. "I do believe you. But I still want you to prove it, someday. But for now, you have my trust."

"That's good to hear."


	5. Yin and Yang

Menma took slow steps as she approached her first target: The Hidden Leaf Village. She grinned behind her fox mask as she approached. "No one would expect me to start with the strongest village. I'll just-" She stopped in her tracks. There were people waiting for her.

And not just any people. Minato Namikaze, his wife Kushina Uzumaki, A fox-girl with silver-blue hair, and...

"Naruto." Menma glared.

"Hello, Menma."

Tamago swished her tail. "Nice of you to pick us first. Luckily, we're planning to stop you here, before you start."

Menma chuckled and pulled her hood down. As Enrai had reported, her hair was the same blonde as both Minato's and Naruto's. She reached for her mask. "Gaze upon my face, for it will be the last thing any of you see."

Suddenly, Menma was pulled into her mind by Yang Kurama.

_Hold on a second, Menma. I'm a little wary of Naruto's companion._

"What, the one-tailed Kitsune? She won't be a problem. One-tailed kitsune are by far the weakest."

_That's not the point. You can see as well as I can that she's a Jutsu Entity._

"But what jutsu? Rasengan? Rei is far stronger."

_Not Rasengan. I should say, not _strictly_ Rasengan. Something more...I sense the Yin within her._

"Interesting. How would you dictate we approach?"

_Kushina is a poor fighter. She is probably present for some kind of psychological attack. Perhaps act as a medic as well. Minato is a strong fighter, but he doesn't look ready to fight. I believe this showdown is between us, Naruto, and the kitsune._

''Thanks for your insight, Kurama."

Menma removed her mask. Her eyes were like Kurama's when he was under Madaras's control. Beyond that, she looked almost exactly like a female version of Naruto. "Like I said, burn my face into your memory. It'll be the last thing you ever see."

"I would prefer it if the last thing we saw was our long-lost daughter running back into our arms."

"Well, sadly that won't happen. Your daughter's probably been dead for years."

"That's what we thought, too. But then we heard about the summit."

"And?"

"We know who you really are. You are our daughter, Naruko Uzumaki."

"Ha! Is that supposed to-ghk!" Menma clutched at her head as something in it throbbed once, painfully.

_I don't appreciate you making small talk, Menma. Kill them._

For the first time in her life, Menma defied the man who had raised her.

"What's the big hurry? You got somethin' to hide?"

_That is neither here nor there. END THEM._

"G-Gah!" Menma's entire body trembled as she tried to fight Madara's influence. "No...y-you tricked me...told me my parents abandoned me..."

_They did._

"If they didn't want me then...why would they want me now?!"

_I grow weary of this. Menma, obey me or die._

Menma's well finally broke, and they could tell.

"Her will broke, but we got to her. Now we just have to knock Madara out of her."

"How will we do that?"

"When I fought Madara years ago, I cut him off from the Nine Tails with a contract seal. That seal has probably weakened, which is likely why he can manipulate Men-" He cleared his throat. "Naruko. Naruto, if you can overwhelm her chakra with your own, Madara will lose his grip on her mind. Then I'll go in and apply the seal."

"All right. You can count on me, dad!"

Tamago cleared her throat loudly at his side.

"Oh, and Tamago, too."

"Tamago, huh? Couldn't think of a better name for her than Tamago?" Menma scoffed. She cast aside her robe, revealing an outfit similar to Naruto's, only with a sleeveless jacket and capri pants. She kept her palmless gloves on. "Shall we go all-out from the start? It rather bores me when my fights aren't challenging."

Naruto activated Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. "All right, Menma...you and me. I'll wake you up!" He cracked his knuckles. "Together with Kurama and Tamago. We'll set you straight!"

"I look forward to it." Menma activated her Nine-Tails Chakra mode. The state looked more like a Biju form than Naruto's, down to the fact that the chakra was red-tinged black.

_Naruto, I'm ready. Tamago is ready, too._

_ All right, Kurama. What's the plan?_

_ Get into a deadlock with her. Then, extend a chakra arm. Tamago will transform and the rest should be history._

_ That's better than any idea I've got in this situation._

_ Don't be afraid to use my chakra to the fullest. This is an all-or-nothing battle, after all._

_ Gotcha, Kurama. We can do this._

Menma grinned. She crouched, pointed all nine tails towards a single point, and opened her mouth.

_Why is she using the Biju Bomb that way? Perhaps in Biju form she cannot use her hands to form Biju Bombs._

Menma swallowed the Biju Bomb, then fired it.

Naruto held both hands out in front of him and caught the projectile, then, with obvious effort, snuffed it.

"My turn!" he charged. Tamago maintained a discreet position on the edge of their battlefield.

Menma and Naruto fought it out for a while hand-to hand, using Rasengan and Rei liberally.

"You're pretty good, Menma...just what I'd expect from my sister!"

Menma faltered slightly.

_Naruto, change of plans. If you pin her, the situation would be more under your control and give Tamago a little more time to get ready._

_ Got it._

Naruto continued to fight, but focused on wearing Menma down. It was working, but he was getting worn out, too. Finally, he managed to get behind her and grab her arms while chakra arms restrained her tails.

"Tamago!"

"Right!" Tamago dashed forward, turning into chakra even as she ran.

"All right, Menma. Let's get you back under your own control." When Tamago had transformed and was within his hand, he whirled Menma around.

"Planetary Rasengan!" He struck her with the Planetary Rasengan.

_Gh...what is that power...? I can't...find her chakra anymore..._

"Dad!" Naruto shouted as Menma was blown backwards by Planetary Rasengan.

Minato teleported to Menma and caught her, then laid her on the ground. "Contract Seal!"

Menma gasped and writhed in pain as the Nine-Tails chakra receded and her eyes flickered back and forth from red to blue.

_You...Fourth Hokage...foiling my plans again...ah, but do not worry. I will have my revenge on the world of shinobi soon enough. You may have your daughter, but keep in mind that one day I will destroy you so you will no longer interfere._

Menma's eyes stopped flickering, staying on blue. She blinked confusedly a couple of times, looked around a bit, then up at Minato. "...Daddy?"

Minato smiled. "Yes, Naruko. Daddy's here."

Menma looked confused. "Naru...ko..." She fainted.

"When you were born...we named you Naruko," Minato whispered.

Naruto deactivated Nine-Tails mode. "It's done, then?

"It's done. Our family is whole again."


	6. Menma No Longer

Naruko stayed in bed for the next few days. She seemed very unhappy about what she'd done while Madara was manipulating her. She refused to see anyone but Naruto.

Naruto sat by her beside now, quiet.

Naruko finally said something. "Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you...introduce me to your friends?"

"Sure I could. I'm sure they'd love you!"

"I don't know..."

"Hey, Naruko, listen. Nobody around here holds a grudge. It's not like you actually killed or hurt anyone."

"It's not that. It's just...won't they hate me for being a Jinchuriki like you?"

"There are some who might. But I've learned that you can't do much of anything about that. No matter who or what you are, somebody will always hate you. All you need to do is not worry about it." Naruto took her hand and pulled her up. "Come on, let's head out. I have quite a few friends, you know."

Naruko looked distastefully at her clothes, which consisted of a white shirt, mid-thigh-length fishnet leggings, and a short, pale blue apron skirt. "I'm not exactly dressed for this."

"Nobody will care. C'mon, let's get going."

Kakashi, Sai, and Sakura had just returned to the Leaf Village from delivering the message that Menma had been defeated.

"Mmmnh...all that travelling has given me quite an appetite," Sakura said, stretching.

"Perhaps we could head to Ichiraku and get some ramen? Perhaps we'll find Naruto there."

"Oh, good idea, Sai! What do you think, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm? Oh, whatever you two want is fine." Kakashi went back to his book.

"I swear, you're no help sometimes." Sakura sighed. "Guess we're going to Ichiraku."

The three of them made their way to Ichiraku. Sakura entered first. "Hey, Teuchi, Ayumi. Seen any sign of Naruto?"

"Oh, Sakura!" Naruto said from one end of the bar.

Sakura turned to him and smiled. "Oh, Naruto, there you are!" She moved to take the seat next to him.

"Ah! Could you move down one? The seat's reserved."

"Oh?" Sakura smirked and moved down a seat. Sai and Kakashi followed suit. "Reserved for who? A date?"

"In a manner of speaking, but not really. You see-"

At that moment, Naruko came into the store, holding a small shopping bag. "I'm back, everyone! Teuchi, I got that menma you wanted!" Naruko didn't even notice the perplexed looks on the faces of Kakashi and Sakura (the latter to a much greater extent than the former) until after she sat down.

"I wish I'd been here all my life! This place is great, brother!"

"Brother? Naruto, who's this?"

"Eek!" Naruko practically jumped out of her skin. "O-O-Oh, I-I-I d-didn't see you!"

"Naruko, calm down. These are a few of my friends." He pointed them out individually. "This is Sakura, this is Sai, and that's Kakashi-sensei."

Naruko recovered from her surprise and bowed to them individually. "It's my pleasure."

"Ah, so it's you. It's nice to meet you, Naruko."

"I agree. Though I wish I knew who you were."

"Exactly. I'm still waiting for you to tell me who the hell she is, Naruto, and why she looks just like you."

"This is Naruko. She's my twin sister. According to my parents, the doctors said she was stillborn, but Madara took her and sealed the Yang half of Kurama inside her. She was Menma."

"You were Menma?" Sakura sized Naruko up. "Well, you weren't doing it of your own free will. Also, you're Naruto's sister, so you're okay by me." Sakura held out her hand.

Naruko looked very confused. "Naruto, what do I do?"

"Shake her hand, Naruko."

"Shake...hands?"

"Sorry. She's barely socialized for sixteen years. Here." Naruto took Naruko's hand and guided it into Sakura's. "Now you grip and shake."

Naruko hesitantly gripped Sakura's hand. Sakura smiled and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Naruko."

Naruko beamed. "Heh...thank you." She stood up and shook hands with Sai and Kakashi as well. "Thank you all!"

"Why are you thanking us?" Sai questioned.

"She had...questions...about whether people would accept her."

"I did. Now, though? Not so much. I can tell I was overstressing about it."

"Well, glad we could help."

"Indeed."

Kakashi was too absorbed in his book to provide an answer.

"Hey, mask man." Naruko said, slightly irritated. "Care to acknowledge when a girl is expressing her feelings?"

"Hm? Ah, well-"

"What are you reading, anyway?" Naruko took the book and looked at the cover. "_Make-Out Adventures_? Oh, one of these books?" She made a sound of disgust and handed the book back. "Soooooo boring. I tried to read _Make-Out Tactics_ once, but it was so damn boring I didn't even make it ten pages in."

"Huh. Really now? I remember your brother saying the same thing."

"Well, we _are_ twins." She winked.

Over the next couple hours, Naruto introduced Naruko to all of his friends, including Gaara, who had come on a diplomatic visit. Now the siblings sat on a bench, munching on a few rice cakes they had procured just a few minutes before.

"Your friends are all great, Naruto. I'm happy that I had the chance to meet them." Naruko seemed to drift off for a second while staring at the Hokage faces on the cliff. "Dad's on there, right?"

"He sure is. Y'know, way back in the when, before I graduated the academy, I got up there and painted on all the faces. Even Dad's."

"Really? Did you get in trouble?"

"Of course. But it meant I got attention. Back then, nobody liked me, so any attention was good attention."

"Hmm...how would you feel about repeating the past?" Naruko grinned.

Naruto grinned back. "I'm always up for a good prank, sis."

Raito was pacing around the office as Rai was doing some paperwork. "I don't know, brother. I just think having the two of them together is a bad idea."

"You're being paranoid. What's the worst thing they could do?" He held up a hand to stop her before she started. "Don't answer that. Hey, could you open the window? Let some fresh air in."

"Yeah, sure..." Raito went to the window and opened it. "Ahh, it sure is a-" She stopped mid-sentence. "Oh. Oh. Oh, for the love of..." She walked away from the window, hand over her eyes. "I told you it was a bad idea."

"Well, now I have to see this." Rai got up and went to the window. Naruko and Naruto were each hanging from a rope ladder, painting on the face last in line: his own. The other five had already been hit, and were covered with garish swirls and star patterns.

The more Rai looked at it, the less he could contain himself. He began laughing, gradually at first but quickly escalating.

Raito was appalled. "How could you laugh at this? You-"

"Oh, lighten up, sis!" Rai said, still laughing. "Ah...this is good."

"How is this 'good'? What am I missing?"

"People are still shell-shocked from the war with the Biju, and adding another one on top of that was the straw that broke a lot of camel's backs. People can finally recover now that there's no significant threats we're aware of out there. This..." He gestured at the cliff. "...This is good for morale. A landmark always so stoic and serious made lighthearted and humorous. It'll make people laugh."

Raito accepted her brother's reasoning. "I hope you're going to punish them, brother."

"Oh, of course. They'll be cleaning it."


End file.
